16 



I. A. A. RECORD— May, 1933 



Ag 



Corn Yield 

 ain Be R 



May 

 eckoned 



In Gallons 



Hi-Ball Gasoline Containing 10 Per Cent Alcohol Wins 



^ ^^ ^f Out In New Road Tests • ' l. 



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HISTORY is repeating itself in 

 the Corn Belt. Years ago, be- 

 fore the brass rail and the 

 swinging door became obsolete, grain 

 growers of the Middle West would 

 jokingly estimate the yield from their 

 broad fields at so many "gallons to 

 the acre." National prohibition put 

 an end to that. 



But today it seems pos- 

 sible that the phrase may 

 again come into circula- 

 tion. King . Corn, whose 

 ultimate destiny, has for 

 years been corn meal, 

 corn syrup, starch, beef or 

 ham, may again find his 

 way to the distillery to 

 emerge as alcohol, not for 

 beverage purposes this 

 time, but for use in pro- 

 pelling thousands of auto- 

 mobiles along millions of 

 miles of paved highways, 

 and doing the job better 

 — and possibly cheaper — 

 than it has ever been done 

 before. And as a result 

 the grain farmer may 

 once again come into his 

 own and have something 

 to cheer about after many 

 Jong years in the Slough 

 of Despond. 



For about two months, 

 Illinois Farm Supply 

 •Company has been dis- 

 tributing to thousands of 

 motorists "Hi-Ball Gaso- 

 line," a motor fuel com- 

 posed of 90 per cent gaso- 

 line and 10 per cent an- 

 hydrous (dry) grain alcohol. Careful 

 -tests have been made under actual 

 working conditions. Thousands of 

 questionnaires have been distributed 

 in which users of the new fuel have 

 noted their experiences and their con- 

 clusions. And the result seems to be 

 tthat the blended fuel is far superior, 



not only to regular grades of gasoline, 

 but to the premium grades, and fur- 

 ther that its users would gladly pay 

 a premium of two to three cents a 

 gallon if the new fuel were made 

 available to them permanently. 



For months scientists and others 

 interested in farm relief had been dis- 



LHuito ana uciMILtMtN W /J,^-- ^S'^T^l^'J^' 



LA01E& dWd GENTLEMEN 

 ttl7e 50ARD-.WEARE 

 JU5T BEGINNING A NEW I and MEU^ 



RECEIVERSHIP 



0^ YOU TO DO €^f.yL^$ I'M OPERAT- 



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cussing the possibility of providing a 

 market for surplus farm products 

 from which alcohol might be produced, 

 by blending it with gasoline for a 

 motor fuel. Extensive laboratory tests 

 were made. As is always the case, 

 over-enthusiastic proponents of the 

 jdea advanced extravagant claims for 



it. There was much reference to 

 similar experirtients abroad. Some pro- 

 fessors thought it would work. Re- 

 finers were equally sure it wouldn't. 

 Farmers were hopeful but skeptical 

 and the voice of the promoter was 

 heard in the land, extolling not a 

 chicken in every pot, but a distillery 

 in every township. 



At the instance of Earl C. Smith, 

 president of Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation, Illinois Farm Supply Com- 

 pany was asked to make a practical 

 test of the plan and get some facts. 

 And the results of that test, con- 

 ducted in co-operation with the Ameri- 

 can Commercial Alcohol Corporation 

 and under the supervision of the Fed- 

 eral Bureau of Industrial Alcohol, now 

 are available. i\ 



The verdict is overwhelmingly in 

 favor of "Hi-Ball Gasoline." About a 

 thousand questionnaires have been re- 

 turned giving the results achieved 

 with the new gas, and the unfavor- 

 able reports are so few as to make 

 the favorable reaction almost unani- 

 mous. For instance, out of 712 users 

 who compared Hi-Bdll with ordinary 

 ^ gasoline, 430 reported an 

 increase in miles per gal- 

 lon. Only three reported a 

 decrease and 279 did not 

 report on mileage. The 

 430 who did report showed 

 an average increase of 

 2.66 miles per gallon with 

 the blended fuel. In this 

 same group, 709 reported 

 that they would be willing 

 to pay a premium for the 

 blended fuel if it were 

 produced from the surplus 

 grain crop. Only three 

 said they wouldn't pay a 

 premium. 



Another group of 29 

 made a comparison of Hi- 

 Ball Gas with premium 

 motor fuel of other grades. 

 Twelve did not report any 

 increase , in mileage, but 

 the 17 who did reported 

 an average increase in 

 miles per gallon of 3.09 

 miles with Hi-Ball. All 

 but one favored paying a 

 premium. 



In both groups reports 

 were made on the various 

 phases of motor operation 

 and comparisons drawn 

 between the old and new 

 fuels with the result that Hi-Ball's 

 performance was better by a wide 

 margin as regards starting, accelera- 

 tion, smoothness of operation, anti- 

 knock qualities, power and general 

 motor performance. Only one reported 

 that his motor ran better with regu- 

 ( Continued on page 18) 



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